Scottish Cup final ratings - who was the hero?
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The Independent
24 minutes ago
- The Independent
The Marshall Islands gearing up for historic international football match
Marshall Islands assistant manager Justin Walley admits the actuality of kicking off the country's first ever international football match still feels like a dream. The Marshall Islands have long claimed to be 'the last nation on earth without a football team', and did not even have a federation until 2020, let alone the national set-up which has only existed for the last two and a half years. For some members of the squad, Thursday's meeting with the US Virgin Islands at the Outrigger Challenge Cup in Arkansas will be their first competitive game of 11 v 11 football – ever. 'There's a sort of unrealness to it that we can't believe it's actually happening,' Leicestershire-born Walley, who now lives in Bosnia and Herzegovina, told the PA news agency. 'But we've been working very hard and we're really focused on what's ahead of us. We've already had several days of hard work and planning. Hopefully we will be as ready as we can be.' Springdale, Arkansas might seem like an odd choice of location for the Marshall Islands-hosted four-team tournament, but it is an area which, as of 2019, boasted the highest concentration of Marshallese in continental United States. Some members of the squad have been recruited from Majuro, the Kwajalein Atoll, and other parts of the Marshall Islands itself, with its population of around 37,500 – and no club football. Several team members have moved to the United States, where some play for US colleges, while others have Marshallese heritage. Their technical director and head coach, Lloyd Owers, who joined in 2022, is based in Oxfordshire. As far as they are aware, the Marshall Islands is the only recognised UN member state not to have played an 11 v 11 international fixture. Some local to Majuro participated in an initial team meeting 18 months ago, but, revealed Walley: 'In terms of an actual national team training camp, this is the first one we have ever done. 'The guys flew in on Friday and Saturday, the first training session ever was on Saturday. We're trying to cram in five days of camp to be ready. 'We try to train like we would with any normal club side. We just try to develop what we've got. Some of the guys do play club football, some have never played 11-a-side. They've played futsal. 'We've been developing that all week, we've played a few sort of mini-games, so it's not as if they (will have) never played 11-a-side before, they will be ready.' Walley hopes what started out as a group of men with a vision – but no infrastructure – will lead to FIFA recognition by 2030 at the latest, though the first step is acceptance into a confederation. Funding for their big international debut has come from sponsorship, a £21,573 crowdfunding campaign, and about 2000 shirts sold over the last couple of years. 'I think people weren't taking us seriously,' admits Walley, who says the side want to give 'the best account of themselves possible' in their historic match. He added: 'They weren't thinking that we could possibly pull this off, playing national teams. We've come a long, long way in a short time.'
The Independent
24 minutes ago
- The Independent
Eredivisie Odds: Latest 2025/26 Dutch Eredivisie betting odds
The 2025/26 Eredivisie season is underway and there's plenty to be excited about heading into this latest campaign for those teams in the Dutch top flight. The Dutch league is home to celebrated clubs including Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord and has a reputation for the development of young talents, including Johan Cruyff, Ronaldo, Patrick Kluivert and others. The Netherlands' most famous trio of clubs has won six European Cups between them and they continue to dominate domestic football, PSV having emerged triumphant in a close title race with Ajax last season. This page is the home of the latest and best Eredivisie odds for the 2025/26 season. We use the latest Dutch Eredivisie odds from the best football betting sites to offer readers optimum value when wagering on the competition. Readers will find not only the top value on Eredivisie winner odds but also relegation odds and the best odds for individual matches. All Eredivisie odds come from our recommended betting sites – all of which are licensed by the UK Gambling Commission – and all the football odds are updated instantly to reflect any changes made by bookies. Eredivisie Match Odds This section details the latest Eredivisie odds for matches during the season. The Eredivisie features 18 teams, with each club playing 34 matches. The 2025/26 season got underway on 8 August and will conclude on 17 May. However, the Eredivisie has a short winter break, which starts on 20 December this season, with the league resuming on 10 January. Match odds can fluctuate based on form, injuries, suspensions, and fixture congestion, with any changes made by bookmakers immediately reflected in our live odds. Ajax, PSV, and Feyenoord typically battle for the title, with FC Twente in 2009/10 the last team outside the big three to emerge triumphant. PSV overhauled a huge deficit to Ajax last season to win their 26th league title, with the Amsterdam-based side having led the standings by nine points entering the final five games. Ajax are still the most successful team in Eredivisie history though – winning 36 league titles – while Feyenoord have 16 championships to their name. Below is a table of the last five Eredivisie winners with their winning points totals. Eredivisie Top Scorer Odds The top scorer betting market is a popular long-term wager in the Dutch league, and the prize has gone to some of football's most famous names, including Luis Suarez, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ronaldo and Marco van Basten. Bettors may want to consider penalty-taking duties, international commitments like AFCON, and injury history before placing a top scorer wager on betting apps. Currently, each-way bets are not available with the majority of UK betting sites on the top scorer market, so any wagers will have to be win-only. Below are the last five Golden Boot winners and their respective tallies. When having a bet, it's vital to practice responsible gambling. When using gambling sites be aware that sports betting can be addictive. Please take steps to remain in control of your time and budget. The same applies whether you're using horse racing betting sites, new betting sites, slot sites, casino sites, casino apps, betting apps, or any other gambling medium. Even the most knowledgeable punter can lose a bet, so always stick to a budget and never chase your losses. It's particularly important not to get carried away by any free bets or casino offers you might receive, both of which are available in abundance on betting sites and, but must be approached with caution. You can stay in control by making use of the responsible gambling tools offered, such as deposit limits, loss limits, self-exclusion and time-outs. You may also want to visit the following free organisations to discuss any issues with gambling you might be having:
The Independent
24 minutes ago
- The Independent
2025/26 Premier League Specials: Odds for Golden Glove, most assists and top at Christmas
Liverpool to be top at Christmas - 2/1 Bet365 Mo Salah to register the most assists - 3/1 Bet365 David Raya to win the Golden Glove - 5/4 Bet365 The Premier League returns in August as the country's top sides once again battle out for the title, survival and European football across the span of the next nine months. England's top flight remains one of the most popular football leagues on the planet, with plenty of interest from fans around the world, and betting sites are preparing for the new season with a range of Premier League betting markets. While the usual debates will rage on regarding title contenders, the battle for top four and the fight to avoid relegation, betting sites regularly put together special markets both before and during the new season, with Premier League odds on markets including the golden glove, the top assister, teams to be top at Christmas and plenty more. And ahead of the new season beginning this month, we've picked out our favourite three special markets available across football betting sites, with odds on Liverpool to be top at Christmas, Mo Salah to register the most assists and David Raya to win the Golden Glove, with a three-fold acca paying out at 27/1 with Bet365 in the latest Premier League odds. Liverpool enter the 2025/26 season as the favourites in the Premier League winner odds to retain the trophy they won at a canter last term, with notable additions to Arne Slot's squad meaning the bookies are backing them to win a 21st top-flight title. The signings of Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Hugo Ekitike and Milos Kerkez – as well as the potential addition of Alexander Isak – means that Slot has added serious quality to a team that won the league by 10 points last season, and though the additions mean that the squad may take time to settle, it is a team that is still better than its rivals (on paper anyway) from the off. With Manchester City needing to bleed in their own major signings in key positions and Arsenal appearing yet to have solved their own attacking shortcomings, it looks like Liverpool will be best-placed to set the early pace in 2025/26. Slot's side were narrowly top of the league at Christmas of 2024, setting a blistering early pace that was only matched – however briefly – by Chelsea before the Reds began to run away with it. Though you would expect something different to happen this season, you'd also expect Liverpool to sustain a title challenge, and being top at Christmas will be a big part of that. Bet365 Premier League specials betting: Salah to get close to assist record? The Premier League assist record remains one of the most elusive records in the top flight, with Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne both having hit 20 in one season. Last term, Mo Salah registered 18 assists but couldn't get the record despite having a few games to do so, though the Egyptian won't be too dismayed considering how his season went overall. And while Salah's 47 goal involvements carried Liverpool to the title in 2024/25, his role in the side may be very different this season with the arrival of Ekitike and potentially Isak. However, he remains one of the leading contenders in the Premier League top scorer odds to win the Golden Boot again. With more of a recognised starting striker present, and with the help of a smaller goalscoring burden, Salah could well register a similar amount of assists as last season, perhaps even teetering near the record once again. While players including Bukayo Saka and teammate Wirtz should be up there, Salah looks like a solid bet on betting sites to finish 2025/26 with the most assists in the league. Premier League specials betting: Arsenal to keep best defensive record Arsenal have boasted the best defensive record in the league over the last two seasons, conceding just 25 goals last term and 29 the season before that. Mikel Arteta has emphasised defensive solidity as the focal point of his Gunners side, with the central pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba emerging as one of the best on the planet. And the team's defensive capabilities mean that David Raya has now won two golden gloves in a row, with the Spaniard keeping 16 clean sheets in 2023/24 before sharing the award with Nottingham Forest's Matz Sels last season, with both keeping 13 clean sheets. Such is Arteta's focus on the defensive side of the game that it looks like Arsenal are best-placed to keep the most clean sheets in the league once again. Of their main competitors, Liverpool tend to prioritise goalscoring over clean sheets and have a more all-action defence (especially with the additions of flying full-backs Frimpong and Kerkez) while City may need to strengthen in this area ahead of the new season if they're to keep anywhere as many clean sheets as the Gunners. Don't rule out another surprise keeper in there – like Sels was last year – though it looks like Raya is well-placed to make it three golden gloves in a row in 2025/26. If you're having a bet on the football, it's vital to practice responsible gambling. Betting can be addictive, and it's important to stay in control of your gambling, whether you're using online bookies, casino sites, slot sites, bingo sites or any other gambling platform. Never treat gambling as a way to make money, never bet more than you can afford and when the fun stops, stop. Gambling sites offer punters tools, like deposit limits, profit and loss trackers and self-exclusion options, to help you stay in control. Try not to get too seduced by free bet offers or casino bonuses, which are widely available on gambling apps. But if you ever feel like you need help or advice on gambling addiction, don't hesitate to contact one of the charities or organisations below.
